


To Be Lonely in a Crowd

by Duckeelover



Category: X-Men Evolution
Genre: Angst, Depression, Mild Gore, Pre-Canon, Scott is a good bro, Self-Harm, Suicidal Thoughts, pietro joins the x-men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-09-17
Packaged: 2019-06-01 03:54:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15134543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Duckeelover/pseuds/Duckeelover
Summary: Cross posted from Fanfiction.netPietro had been running his whole life. Why not? He never had a reason to stay. But then Charles Xavier offers him a home and suddenly Pietro has to fight against his very nature in order to find the place where he'll finally belong. Watch Pietro grow up at the Xavier Institute and experience all the twists and turns of being a teenager and a mutant





	1. Chapter 1

Pietro Maximoff had been running away his whole life. He’d run from Marya and Django when he discovered that they weren’t his true parents, the only thing bringing him back the smell of smoke and the thought of his sister. When his father appeared to wreak unholy justice onto the close-minded villagers, Pietro had run from him too. He supposed that was a common theme in their relationship.

Anytime when the pressure of being the son of a mutant terrorist became too much to bear, for they both knew despite Erik’s attempts to hide his double life, he would run again. When Wanda’s powers emerged, each time more violently than the past, he ran. And on that rainy day when he was nine- I’m not thinking about it. I won’t think about it.

So, when Pietro discovered that his most recent foster home was filled with abusive assholes (just like the last three), he ran. He left in the middle of the night, packing no things without the slightest hint of regret.

“What do I have worth taking anyway?” The 12-year-old muttered to himself. Still, he was regretting not bringing at least a jacket as the cold November air bit through his thin T-shirt.

I don’t even know where I’m going, Pietro thought numbly. Normally he would use his super speed in cases like this, but he had enough experience to know he would need all the energy he could get for the coming months. Not only was winter fast approaching, but any food Pietro consumed would have to be stolen. The fact that his metabolism was so much faster due to his mutation only made matters more complicated. There’s a good chance I’ll die.

Strangely, the thought didn’t bother him.

Shaking off his suddenly dower mood, Pietro decided to focus instead on where he was going. He had no destination in mind; the goal was simply to be anywhere except where he was. For the time being, he simply trudged along the side of an empty highway.

“God, I hope it doesn’t rain,” Pietro spoke to himself while glancing up at the sky to assure there were no gathering storm clouds. Wait a second. What is that?

Whatever was hovering in the sky far above definitely wasn’t a bird. In fact, it looked disturbingly like a human. Then again most humans didn’t have wings. The most disturbing fact, however, was that whatever it was seemed to be following him. Come to think of it, how long had that thing been above him without him realizing it?

Screw saving energy, I’m speeding out of here. Pietro could be ten miles away from here in a second. As a matter of fact, the silver-haired boy would be ten miles away by now if it weren’t for the hand now gripping firmly to his collar.

“Don’t even try runnin’, kid.” Okay, now he was really starting to panic. He was either about to be kidnapped, or worse: the cops were here to put him back in foster care. Maybe he could talk his way out of this?

“Let me go!” That’ll show ‘em. “I haven’t done anything wrong. This is kidnapping!” When the grip on his shirt only tightened, Pietro started to involuntarily struggle, pulling against his assailant.

“I believe you’re scaring him, Wolverine.” An African woman with long, white hair walked into view, pushing a bald man in a wheelchair. Well, at least with the way these people were dressed they definitely weren’t cops.

“Angel said he was about to make a break for it,” Wolverine (that had to be a codename, and a lame one at that) grunted, not loosening his grip on the 12-year-old’s clothing. Who are these people? And why are they all dressed so weird? Studying the man in the wheelchair, a vague memory struggled to make itself known. That bald dude sort of looks like-

“Uncle Charles?” There had to be some kind of mistake as the man smiled warmly at the recognition.

“Ah, Pietro,” He said warmly. “I was hoping you would have remembered me, though it has been quite some time since I’ve seen you.” Pietro stopped any of his half-hearted struggling as he truly took in who was in front of him. Charles Xavier, his father’s best friend, the one who had been such a common face to his childhood before simply disappearing, was right in front of him. In a wheelchair!

“What happened to your legs?” Pietro blurted out. One of the unfortunate side effects of his mutation was that he often said the first thing that came to mind, appropriate or not. If this were any other person, he wouldn’t care. But this was Charles, the man whose presence alone was enough to make Pietro wish to be something better. The man had a way of inspiring greatness in everyone. A wave of overwhelming guilt came over the silver haired boy. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why did you say that? Now he’ll just leave and you’ll never get the answers to any of your questions. Contrary to Pietro’s internal monologue, Xavier took on a wistful, solemn expression, as opposed to the one of anger he had expected.

“It… is a long story,” Xavier explained after a moment. “One best left for another time. I believe we have more pressing matter currently.” Pietro nodded absentmindedly, focusing on the fact that his uncle didn’t seem to be upset about his rude question. “Pietro, you and I both know that it isn’t safe for a boy your age to be wandering about without any sort of adult, especially one with your gifts.”

“So what?” Pietro snapped, defensive. The fact that this Wolverine guy was still holding onto his shirt with a death grip was starting to really piss him off. Not to mention how upset the implication that he couldn’t take care of himself made him. He ignored the voice in the back of his head that told him he was only upset because of how tired and hungry he was.

“I mean no offense by my statement.” Xavier spoke with an ever patient tone, his eyes betraying nothing. “And I apologize for the way we revealed ourselves. We simply feared that you would run before we had a chance to speak.”

“Then why do I still feel like a captive?” Pietro made a strong attempt at keeping the pout out of his voice, but in the end failed miserably. He was hungry, tired, and now to top it all off, confused beyond belief. With a wave of his hand, Charles ordered Wolverine to let go of Pietro. 

“It was never my or any of my colleagues intentions to make you feel that way, Pietro. We simply wished to extend an invitation to you. I run a school for mutants, to help them learn to control their powers and use them to contribute to society.” Pietro thought about what Xavier was offering, trying to grasp the trap.

“Why would I want to go to your school? I already have control over my powers.”

“That may be,” Charles Xavier conceded. “But what I am offering is more than just an education. I am offering a home, a place to flourish while you discover yourself. And more than that, I am offering a family.” Pietro considered everything Charles had said. He didn’t really care about the family or school stuff, but it would be nice to have a safe place to come home to every night. And it sure as hell sounded better than any of his foster homes.

“Okay,” Pietro finally spoke. It had felt like hours of thinking to him, but in reality only a minute or so had passed. “Say I come to your school. What are the chances of my father finding me?”

“I have no doubt that Erik will know you have joined the school almost immediately. But it is your choice on whether or not you want to see him or not, and should he try to be more… forceful, well, that’s what the X-Men are for.”

X-Men? Oh, all of these weirdoes. I don’t think they’d stand a chance in a fight against Dad, but… I just can’t help but trust Uncle Charles.

“I’ll… do it.” It wasn’t normal for Pietro to hesitate, but to be fair to him, it had been an extremely rough day. For liabilities sake, he quickly tacked on, “But if I decide that I don’t like it there, I’ll leave.” Without telling you, he added just to himself.

“It seems we are in agreement.” Charles Xavier had one of the most genuine smiles in the world. It was almost painful to look at. “Well then, how would you feel about going home and getting some food in you? Introductions can wait until after you’re well enough rested.”

Pietro couldn’t agree more.


	2. Chapter 2

By the time they arrived at the mansion, it was well past midnight. Pietro avoided the others in the jet, preferring to sit by himself. He knew that if he was more awake, he would be questioning Uncle Charles about the past couple of years and why he had suddenly stopped visiting him and Wanda.

The jet landed underground, much to Pietro’s amazement. This is so weird, he thought, unbuckling his seatbelt and waiting anxiously to leave. I mean, who would’ve guessed Uncle Charles was mega rich?

The door opened and Pietro was outside and waiting before any of the others could even think to move. The others… Of course, Pietro loved Uncle Charles. The man had been a near constant presence after they moved in with their father, until one day he simply vanished from their lives. The one time Pietro had attempted to ask his father where the man had gone, he had been met with an angry slap. He had opted not to ask again.

He also knew the African woman, Storm. She was the aunt of his former best friend, Evan Daniels. I’m sure she hates me after all we went through. Thinking about Evan was another painful topic.

The other two were new faces. Pietro had decided he did not care for Wolverine and his gruff no nonsense attitude. After all, who was Pietro, but the king of nonsense? Coupled with his wounded pride over being caught so easily by the intimidating older man, Pietro had opted to simply avoid the unwanted presence.

Angel, the last member of the supposed “X-Men”, was the closest in age to the speedster. The blonde teenager had been the one Pietro had seen flying above him earlier. He had happily introduced himself as Warren Worthington the Third, which was promptly ignored by the silver haired child. He had no desire to make friends; he just wanted a quick meal then to be out of this strange situation.

Pietro hated slowly following behind the group, but he also had no idea where he was going. His usual impatience was kept in check by the amazing underground maze presented to him. There’s so much stuff down here, he thought wondrously. How is this even possible?

The group entered an elevator, Pietro obstinately separating himself from the others. They left him to his thoughts, chatting quietly. The boy felt a wave of self-pity. I mean who would want to talk to me anyway? Despite his thoughts, he knew that he put himself in this position. Of course no one would want to speak to someone as brash and uncooperative as he was. He repressed the painful pricking of tears. I’m not going to cry over something so stupid.

Pietro was so caught up in his thoughts, he almost missed Xavier exiting the elevator. Not wanting to be left alone without the calming presence of his uncle, the speedster quickly followed. He noticed Wolverine and Storm breaking off from their small band.

“Where are they going?” Pietro asked, mostly to himself.

“To bed,” Warren answered easily, despite the fact that Pietro hadn’t actually been that interested in the reason. “It’s like 3 a.m. I’m pretty sure Scott’s still up though.” Scott…? Oh no, there were even more of them!

“As I recall,” Uncle Charles started. “Your metabolism was extremely fast, causing you to need more calories than average. I’m sure we can find something to satiate your hunger until breakfast tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I could eat.” Pietro tried to sound nonchalant, but in reality the prospect of food was already making his mouth water. He couldn’t honestly remember the last time he had truly been full; even the better foster homes had fed him only what would be considered “normal” for his age. He followed Uncle Charles into the kitchen, unable to hide his eagerness any longer.

“Hey…oh…” Pietro paused at the sound of the hunched over boy at the table. What kind of person where’s red sunglasses inside at night? Pietro internally connected Angel’s earlier comment to this new person, Scott. He’s probably around my age too. Scott looked vaguely uncomfortable, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks.

“Um, hi… I’m-“

“Scott, right?” Pietro cut him off, wanting this awkward interaction to end. Every second he wasted was another he wasn’t eating. “Pietro.” Introductions done, food time.

“Well, yeah,” Scott mumbled, slowly gaining his confidence back. “Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting a new face. I would shake your hand but I’m currently nursing a pretty bad cold.” They sat in an uncomfortable silence that felt like it stretched out for hours for Pietro, but was likely only a few minutes.

“So…” Warren interrupted the strained quiet. “Who’s feeling Mac and Cheese?”

Scott nodded vigorously and ,in answer, Pietro took a seat with a chair between him and Scott. Uncle Charles smiled, situating himself at the head of the table while Warren got to work boiling the water.

“So, Pietro,” Xavier started not long after. The speedster was happy for the broken silence, even though he could feel a lecture of some kind coming. “We should cover some ground rules while you’ll be staying with us.”

“I’m still not even sure if I’m staying,” Pietro responded honestly. In any other situation, he would have simply left in the middle of the night without saying a word. But this was Charles.

“That may be. And while I do hope that you give staying here a chance, it is your decision. In the meantime, you should be aware of certain policies we have in place for all of the students here. For one, breakfast starts sharply at eight. You are free to use your powers as you please around the institute, but we do ask that you refrain from using them in public. This is both for your safety as well as that of all mutants. The world simply isn’t ready to accept mutants yet.” Pietro nodded; all of these were reasonable.

“I will also ask that you refrain from cursing while you stay here.” 

Fuck.

“Do these terms seem acceptable to you?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Pietro agreed, still caught on the no cursing thing.

“Food’s ready.” Angel dropped a steaming plate of Mac and Cheese in front of Pietro. The silver-haired-boys mouth watered before he quickly dug in, not caring if he looked like a slob.

“That was… fast,” Scott commented. Pietro could just imagine his eyes going wide beneath the tinted shades.

“No, really?” Pietro replied sarcastically. He knew it was unfair to pick on Scott when the other boy had no idea about his powers, but Pietro had been bullied too many times about his speed, and hair, and fucking personality to let an innocent comment slip by. “It’s almost like I’m a mutant or something.”

“You don’t have to be a jerk about it,” Scott shot back, his eyebrows furrowing. “I didn’t mean it mean or anything like that.”

“Oh, I’m sorry Shades McCool. I had no idea that people have to take things exactly as you intend them without their own interpretations. You would almost think that would eliminate miscommunication entirely. We should probably let the rest of the world know, it’ll definitely end a lot of wars.”

“You wanna go?” Scott scowled. His hands shot up to grip his glasses with the same tension one would have when holding a gun.

“Try me,” Pietro shot back. Isn’t this great? He’d been here ten minutes and was already screwing everything up. A wave of self-loathing threatened to send the speedster out the door. I should just find a car and jump-

His self destructive thinking was interrupted by Warren’s guffawing laughter. The older teen wiped imaginary tears from his eyes.

“Would you look at that, Prof? They’re going to fight it out over Mac and Cheese.” At the laughter, Scott lowered his hand, flushing a bright pink color. Pietro felt his heart rate slow, the tension passing. 

“It seems emotions are running high,” Xavier agreed. “Perhaps it’s time for bed?” Pietro couldn’t believe how fast the situation had deescalated. In any of his other foster homes, he would likely now be nursing a busted lip or something of the sort.

Pietro followed his uncle to the room he would be staying in, knowing he would be getting no sleep. He sat on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Maybe this place isn’t so bad. It’s got food, the people are way better than any of my foster homes, and Uncle Charles is here. I could stick it out for a couple of days and see how it goes.

Pietro mulled over his options for the rest of the night as sleep refused to come, finally deciding to stick it out. In the end, he resolved for this to be his last home, one way or another.


	3. Chapter 3

Scott  
Scott didn’t know what to think of Pietro. The younger boy was equal parts rude, angry, and charming. It was impossible to get a read on him, both due to his quick speed and personality. Yet at the same time, Scott couldn’t help how much he liked having another teen’s presence in the Mansion.  
Maybe it was for that reason that Scott didn’t immediately push Pietro out the door when he found the other boy sleeping in his room.  
“What?” Scott questioned the motionless heap of silver hair on the floor. Not only was it the middle of the night, but Pietro had no reason whatsoever to be sleeping on his floor. Scott nudged the lifeless child lightly. “What are you doing here?”  
“What are you doing here?” Pietro snapped in his sleep, turning away from the offending body part.  
“This is my room,” Scott said, resorting to full on kicking to wake Pietro up. The silver haired boy obliged, glaring at Scott’s ever present red shades.  
“It’s the middle of the night. Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”  
“I was until I realized you were sleeping on my floor.” Why did Pietro always insist on discussing irrelevant things? “Just go back to your own room already.”  
“How do I know this isn’t my room and you just pushed me onto the floor?” Pietro grumbled childishly. Scott rolled his eyes. Way to avoid the issue.  
“If you aren’t gone in the next ten seconds, I’m getting Logan,” Scott bluffed. He feared for his own life if he were to wake Logan from sleep. Pietro seemed to take the threat seriously however, sticking his tongue out defiantly before zipping away.  
So weird, Scott thought, closing his eyes once more.  
Warren  
Warren Worthington loved his kid brothers. He really did, despite the fact that they more often than not drove him up a wall. In the week since he’d joined the Mansion residents, Pietro had revealed himself as a natural trouble maker. In a way, he was the perfect foil to Scott’s stoic brooding. Warren had a soft spot for the silver-haired speedster; he brought a certain light to the Mansion that no one had noticed was missing before.  
Warren went to open his closet and was jerked from his thoughts by the sight of the little speedster he had just been thinking about. Pietro was curled up like a cat, complete with his tiny hand covering his eyes. Picture perfect, Warren thought, pulling out his phone to snap a few pics. It was nice to see Pietro actually sleeping; the boy always had dark bags under his eyes and the winged teenager would easily admit that it worried him.  
“My bag…” His bag, and homework, was trapped under Pietro, acting as a sort of uncomfortable looking pillow. As much as I want to let him sleep… Warren lightly shook the silver-haired boy awake, regretting his responsibilities as a student.  
“Wha…?” Pietro blearily raised his head. He rubbed his eyes, sitting up uncharacteristically slowly.  
“Sorry, bud,” Warren apologized. “I’ve gotta do my homework.”  
“S’okay,” Pietro mumbled stretching and standing up. Warren was half tempted to tell him to go back to sleep, but felt that Pietro would sleep better in his own bed.  
“See ya, kid,” Warren grinned, rubbing Pietro’s head. The boy glared at the unwanted touch, frowning, before speeding out of the room. Warren smiled. “What are we going to do with you, Pietro?”  
Logan  
Logan hated going out for a smoke and finding Pietro lying on the balcony. How many times was this? Four. Wolverine sighed, putting away his cigar. With well practiced hands, he gently seized the small child, careful not to wake him.  
It was a slow a walk to Pietro’s room; the last thing Logan wanted was for Magneto’s brat to wake up and freak out. Charles had told him that Pietro had feared him ever since the night he had come to join the Institute, and while Logan didn’t blame him, he still wanted to avoid making the relationship any worse if the two were going to be living together for an extended period of time.  
The gruff older man adjusted his grip slightly, opening the door to Pietro’s room. Walking in here always made Logan feel a strong swell of pity for the child. The room was immaculate, without a shred of evidence that a person actually lived there. Whether it be from the foster homes that he refused to speak of, or the years he spent living with his biological father, Pietro had learned long ago to remove any evidence that he actually existed. It was safer that way, to pretend he wasn’t alive.  
Logan set Pietro down, tucking him in with a gentleness few would expect from him. Free of his burden, Logan made the move to leave when he felt a small hand grasping onto him. Pietro had latched on in his sleep, his grip made of iron. To remove the hand now would require waking the boy.  
Logan sighed, taking a seat on the bed and longingly thinking of his cigar. We are having a serious talk when you get back, Chuck. And then we’re putting deadbolts on the door to be balcony.  
Ororo  
Ororo Monroe was ecstatic that her nephew’s best friend was attending the Institute that she taught at. It was always exciting to get new students, but the addition of one she was familiar with (and had always feared would be coerced into choosing a dark path) filled her heart with hope.  
The African Goddess entered her room, gaze lighting on the small shape curled into her bedding. She wasn’t entirely surprised that this had happened. Warren’s pictures, while cute, had been a warning sign, and Logan’s late night complaints about finding their youngest mutant asleep on his balcony had been concerning.  
“Sweet child.” Ororo gently stroked Pietro’s hair and blue eyes snapped open with fear.  
“Storm. Um, sorry, I- I’ll just go.”  
“Now, now, Pietro,” Ororo chastised lightly. “I think it’s time we got to the bottom of this. Why do you seem to sleep everywhere except your own bed?”  
“It…” Pietro seemed lost for words. His gaze flitting to his hands as they tirelessly worked the fabric of the comforter. “It’s just difficult, ya know? To sleep alone.”  
“I’m not sure I understand exactly,” Storm tried gently, hoping not scare him away. This felt like a breakthrough. Had Pietro opened up to any other person in the Mansion, even Charles?  
“I had a sister.” Had. “We used to do everything together. We shared a bedroom our whole life until… She’s gone now. I just really can’t sleep without knowing someone else is in the room.” Ororo noticed the final words, whispered without the intention of being heard. “Without Wanda.”  
“I see,” Storm murmured, settling on a solution. “While I wish you would have told someone sooner, I’m sure we can work something out. I’m sure Scott would love to have a roommate.” Pietro’s eyes shot up, shock glistening with barely held back tears.  
“But for now, you can spend the night with me. I don’t think anyone would appreciate being woken at this hour.”  
“I don’t get it,” Pietro said, angrily wiping away his now free flowing tears. “Don’t you hate me?”  
“Dear child, why would I ever hate you?”  
“Evan hates me,” Pietro whispered. Ororo paused, biting her lip.  
“I’m sure whatever happened between you and Evan will pass. I’ve never seen a pair as attached as the two of you. I remember how lost he looked when he learned that you had moved away.”  
“Not this.” Pietro seemed positive, but would say no more on the matter. Ororo pulled the boy into a hug, softly stroking his hair as his hiccupping subsided.  
“I promise you this Pietro,” She said as his breathing slowed. “I do not hate you and there is very little that would ever make me feel that way. I fear you have seen too much of the horrors of the world already, but I promise that I will die before I let you sink any further into your own despair.”  
Pietro was long asleep by then, the tear streaks on his face drying in the night air. Ororo would be there to wake him if any nightmares came to torture his sleep.

Logan slipped into Ororo’s room, a bottle wine in one hand and two glasses in another. He paused when he saw the silver-haired menace curled tightly the African woman who simply set a finger to her lips in a plea for silence. Logan sighed and backed out the way he came. Guess I’m drinking alone tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was my favorite chapter to write so far. Getting in character for Logan is tough though. I hope he comes off right.


	4. Chapter 4

Scott’s room looked different in the daylight. To be fair, Pietro hadn’t been paying much attention on the few nights he’d spent sleeping on the other boys’ floor. He glanced around at the other belongings: a picture of Scott with, presumably, his family, a few books lying haphazardly on a desk next to haphazardly stacked Algebra work, and a neatly put together bed that screamed “I’m the good kid”.

Pietro scanned the other side of the room, his side now. There was now a newly made bed, a dresser, and a desk of his very own, all of which were immaculately clean. That won’t last long, the preteen thought ruefully. He quickly sped over to the dresser and neatly organized the clothes that Uncle Charles had thoughtfully bought for him after realizing that Pietro had absolutely no belongings.

“That’s still going to take some getting used to,” Scott said, shaking his head slightly. Pietro stuck his tongue out at his new roommate and fell back comfortably on the bed. For a minute they sat in a comfortable silence with Scott idly twiddling his thumbs.

“You know,” The boy with the red sunglasses interrupted. “If you had just told me that you couldn’t sleep alone, I wouldn’t have kicked you out that one night. I mean, why didn’t you just say something?” Pietro sat up, a small frown adorning his face.

“I…” Pietro wetted his lips, trying to think of the words to say, all the words he’d been unable to say for so long. “I don’t like talking about Wanda, ya know? Besides, I’m 12 now. I should be over all of that by now.” His father had thought that he should be over his sisters’ absence by the next day, so Pietro could only imagine Erik’s disappointment at finding his son still mourning his twin three years later.

“Wanda’s your sister right?” Pietro nodded. Scott grabbed his family picture and handed it to Pietro, pointing to the blonde child at the front that a younger Scott was affectionately hugging. “That’s my little brother. His name was Alex.”

“Was?” The word didn’t get past the speedster.

“Both of my parents and Alex died in a plane crash a couple of years back.” Pietro couldn’t look at the picture any more, pushing it back into Scott’s chest. It was too similar; how many families had Pietro lost? Erik had abandoned him, Marya and Django had both died in that fire, and Wanda might as well be- Oh God, don’t think that. Pietro rubbed at his eyes, trying to stop the pricking of tears.

Scott seemed to realize his mistake, hiding the picture and placing a comforting hand on Pietro’s shoulder. “I didn’t say that to make you upset,” The other boy said quickly. “I just wanted you to know that I get it. My family is gone and it still hurts to this day. You shouldn’t feel like it’s not okay to still be sad about whatever happened to her. And we’re all here for you. I know Logan may not seem like it, but he’s really a big softie deep down.”

Pietro was amazed at the amount of emotion and care that stoic Scott Summers had exhibited. He was vaguely reminded of his second day at the Institute when the speedster had asked Warren why Scott was always trying to impersonate a brick wall. Pietro steeled his voice, still unwilling to let the other boy see him cry.

“Thanks.” Really, what else could he say? They lapsed back into silence, until they were interrupted by none other than Charles Xavier knocking on the door.

“I was thinking I would find the two of you in here,” The bald man smiled lightly. Pietro couldn’t help but be warmed by the familiar presence, pushing down all of those ugly, unwanted emotions for the time being. Xavier turned to Scott. “I’m sure you haven’t forgotten the Danger Room session that begins in ten minutes.”

“Of course not, Professor,” Scott said sheepishly, turning a light pink color. He quickly went to closet and pulled out a black and yellow suit, somewhat similar to the one Wolverine had been wearing on the first night Pietro was introduced to the Institute and its odd characters. The silver haired child shot an inquisitive look at the Professor.

“I expected you might be interested,” Uncle Charles said. “You may come and watch the training session if you want.” Pietro nodded, eager to spend time with the near constant presence from his childhood.

They left Scott to scramble to get ready. Pietro was usually unhappy to be moving so slowly, but he always made an exception to stay around Charles. He had initially been irritated when he learned that the man would be leaving so soon after Pietro’s introduction to his new home to “help a young mutant whose powers were developing too fast to control”. Whatever that meant. But now that the his uncle was back, Pietro found it hard to stay angry at the one person in his life that had come back after leaving.

“I hope you are settling into your new room well,” the Professor said. Pietro nodded, not wanting to think about all of the emotions he’d just abandoned in Scott’s room. “I don’t want you to take what I’m saying the wrong way, Pietro.” Pietro eyed the bald man quizzically. “Would you be interested in therapy?”

If Pietro had been drinking water, he would have spit it out. Therapy? No thanks, he thought bitterly, an image of Wanda crying for their father as she was dragged away forcing its way to the forefront of his mind.

“I’ll pass.” Pietro didn’t mean for the venom to enter his voice, but he couldn’t deny his disdain for any of supposed “mental health” professionals.

“For some reason I thought you’d say that.” Charles nodded, his voice neither disappointed nor pleased. “I could tell you all of the benefits of speaking freely to a licensed professional, but something tells me they would go in one ear and out the other.” Yep. Pietro wasn’t feeling smug in the slightest. “But if you ever do change your mind, all you have to do is ask. I myself can work as a therapist, or if you would be more comfortable with someone else, I have many friends who would be more than happy to speak with you.”

“Yeah, okay,” Pietro acquiesced. Like that’ll ever happen. Erik and him agreed on few things, but they both wholeheartedly believed that the entire field of psychology was, as his father had called it, pseudoscience bullshit.

They entered the control room for what Pietro could only assume was the Danger Room, which overlooked a large empty room where Wolverine, Angel, and Storm waited, all wearing their costumes from the night they’d met Pietro. He smiled as he saw Scott run into the room, pulling on a set of gloves. The ruby red sunglasses were replaced by a similarly red colored visor.

“Go ahead and start the warm up, Chuck,” Wolverine called up. Pietro watched as the room came to life. Suddenly, lasers were shooting from the walls, the room looked like it was trying to kill all of them, and everyone was using their powers. Pietro stared in awe as Scott shot optic beams from his eyes, slicing what looked like a wrecking ball in half before it smash him into the nearest wall.

This was the first time he’d seen any of them using their powers in their full before. Angel, swiftly flying across the ceiling, his wings spread wide, though Ororo was not to be outdone. The goddess glided across the ceiling beside teenager shooting lightning at any object that dared threaten their journey. Wolverine was slicing everything to bits with his metal claws, which the silver haired speedster had been totally unaware of. He had to admit, Pietro was impressed.

That feeling didn’t last long however, as it rarely did with the speedster. He quickly grew bored with the impressive shows of power. It doesn’t look that hard. I could do all of this stuff and much faster than these guys. As a matter of fact…

“Why am I not allowed to do this stuff?” Pietro asked Professor Xavier.

“I apologize, Pietro. I didn’t want to give you the impression that you weren’t allowed to participate in training. I simply wanted to give you more time to adjust before introducing the idea. If you wish to enter the Danger Room at any time, you’re more than welcome too.” Pietro thought for a minute. “Can I go right now?”

“As soon as the others are done with their session.” Uncle Charles looked surprised at his enthusiasm. Like hell was Pietro admitting that he desperately wanted to impress his housemates. “They should be done in an hour. Although, we will have to find something for you to wear.”

“I’ve got that covered.”

Pietro sped off and spent the next half hour constructing a costume of his own. In the end, he didn’t want it to be too dissimilar to the others, so he went with black leather and the silly little X’s on the side. Whoever designed these has no idea about fashion, the speedster decided. He considered adding his own touch to the costume, but opted to wait until after he had tested the thing out before going through the effort of adding anything extra.

The silver haired boy returned to Charles, now in full costume. The Professor shifted his gaze to the preteen, nodding his head in approval. Pietro paced anxiously, ready for his turn. When the time finally came and the others left the Danger Room, the speedster eagerly raced in.

“We’re going to start this on the lowest setting.” Uncle Charles’s voice echoed over the intercom. Pietro wanted to argue that it should be harder, but decided to play along in the beginning. In front of his eyes, the Danger Room transformed. Pietro scoffed, speeding easily around the room and incapacitating all of the objects on the ground trying to shoot him. It was sort of funny how everything was moving so slowly; a light punch going at this speed was enough to break the expensive looking electronics in half.

Pietro eyed the lasers on the wall, lapping the room in order to build up enough speed. I haven’t done this in a while, the silver haired speedster thought as he made the careful step from floor to wall. He circled the room, enjoying the feeling of running so much that he wasn’t paying much attention to where he was going.

The speedster didn’t see the wall pushing quickly out of the floor until it was right in front of him. Unable to dodge, Pietro stopped running. Unfortunately, he was going fast enough that the momentum propelled him forward so that he bounced off the wall and landed on the floor with a harsh clang.

Pietro shook his head, trying to ignore his now aching body. I hope I don’t have a concussion. Erik had always insisted that most dangerous injuries were head injuries. Pietro pushed himself to his feet as the others rushed into the room. He tried to avoid any of their gazes, embarrassed by his aching limbs and weak display.

“That was amazing,” Scott said. Pietro’s eyes widened. Hadn’t he just failed?

“You only think that because you lasted ten seconds your first time alone in the Danger Room,” Warren scoffed. He turned to Pietro. “But you did do well, especially for your first time. Why didn’t you tell me you could run on walls?”

“Uh…” Pietro rubbed the back of his head, suddenly sheepish. It felt weird to be rewarded when he hadn’t even done right. Uncle Charles cast a worried eye towards the boy.

“How are you feeling, Pietro? That was quiet a nasty fall.”

“It’s alright,” Pietro assuaged any fears quickly. “I’ve had worse.” He ran into walls more often than he was willing to admit. Charles nodded.

“I would say this has been a rather productive day. You did well, Pietro. And I’m sure we’ll be able to help you improve with time.” Pietro couldn’t argue with that; his overconfidence had been shattered easily enough.

“Let’s go get something to eat, little bro,” Warren said, throwing an arm over Pietro’s shoulder. Pietro would normally push the big goofball off of him, but decided to let it be for now.

“Yeah, let’s go” He couldn’t help the small grin at his new housemates. No. My new family.


	5. Chapter 5

_Pietro sped happily around the yard, making sure to pass close to his sister so that the wind blew her hair wildly. The young girl clapped, giggling. The speedster slowed to a stop, placing a kiss on the top of Wanda’s forehead. Wanda smiled, enveloping her twin in a hug._  
_“Things are nice here,” She said, pulling back. Pietro couldn’t help but agree. America had a certain charm to it that their home country didn’t._  
_The calm moment was interrupted by loud yelling starting from inside the house. Pietro gripped Wanda’s hand tightly as the trees began to sway in the wind._  
“ _It’s okay,” He murmured, hoping it was true. “Uncle Charles and Dad are just having an argument.”_  
_“What if they’re talking about me?” The girl asked quietly. “What if it’s about my powers?”_  
_"It’s not.” It more than likely was. The stress of Wanda’s increasingly violent powers was quickly wearing Erik’s patience thin, despite Charles Xavier’s efforts to help her control_ herself. “And even if it is, I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ll take care of you.”  
_“What if I want to take care of you?” Wanda smiled._  
_“We’ll take care of each other then,” Pietro agreed. “No one can keep us apart. Right?”_  
_Wrong._  
Pietro shot out of bed, trying to calm his racing breathing. He wanted to run, to leave, and to never come back. The memories wouldn’t leave him even if he left, and he had no desire to flee this peaceful home he’d found himself in.  
The young teenager sighed, running his hands through his hair. He focused on the loud snoring of his roommate, letting his thoughts drift away from the dream. Normally he would be waking Scott up at this time to go to school, but the semester was now officially over. Pietro was half-tempted to wake the other regardless, just so he wouldn’t be awake alone in the giant house.  
Pietro decided to go for a morning run around the town, just to pass time. In a good hour, people would actually be awake and he would have at least something to do other than think. He arrived back to a still snoring Scott.  
“Wake up. Waaaaaaake uuuuuuup!” Pietro relentlessly poked the other boy into pulling his ruby shades on.  
“I actually get to sleep in today though,” Scott complained, sitting up.  
“I did let you sleep in, Mr. ‘I’m a morning person’,” Pietro let the sarcasm roll of his tongue. To be fair to Scott, the speedster needed significantly less sleep as a side effect of his mutation.  
“Yeah, like an hour,” Scott said while begrudgingly getting dressed.  
“You would have been upset if you missed breakfast.”  
“No, you would have been upset if I missed breakfast.” Pietro stuck his tongue out and he would have sworn that Scott was rolling his eyes behind his visor. The two went down to the dining room together, Pietro keeping the slow pace set by Scott.  
“Nice of you two to join us,” Logan grunted as they entered.  
“His fault,” Pietro called as he sped over to his customary seat to Warren’s left. Scott sat opposite the speedster, letting his bangs that desperately needed a trimming fall over his face.  
“As I was saying,” Professor Xavier continued from where he had left off. “We will be receiving a new student late today. I expect consideration towards her, as this will be an adjustment period for us all. This applies especially to those of us who may come off as rather… abrasive.”  
“Read you loud and clear, Chuck,” Logan replied, spearing a sausage with a claw.  
“I wasn’t referring to you, Logan,” Charles said with a pointed look at Pietro. The speedster threw his hands up in mock surprise.  
“You wound me so, Uncle Charles. When on Earth have I ever been anything but a saint? That you know of.” He made sure to whisper the last part.  
“Just be sure to be on your best behavior,”’ The Professor acquiesced.  
“Of course, Prof.” Why was Scott rolling his eyes again?  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
“I’m Jean.” The red-headed girl’s outreached hand was promptly ignored by Pietro. She waited a minute, and then withdrew it awkwardly.  
“Ignore him,” Scott said, elbowing the younger boy. “He’s just real standoffish at first.”  
“That’s our, Piety.” Warren chose that moment to ruffle the speedsters hair, much to the others annoyance. “He couldn’t be friendly to save his life.”  
“That’s okay,” Jean said, clearly still uncomfortable about the situation. It wasn’t the girl herself that Pietro didn’t like, as much as her obvious wealth. She was dressed in finer clothes than he could ever hope to afford; he might as well just call her debutante considering how she looked.  
“So what’s your power?” Pietro asked as rudely as he could without reprimand.  
“I can hear what other people think,” She said shyly. “And I can sometimes move things with my mind.”  
“Sometimes?”  
“I don’t usually do it on purpose.” Pietro’s blood ran cold at the words. She even sort of looked like Wanda.  
“And that’s why you’re here,” Warren nodded knowingly, and then clapped his hands together. “Well let’s see what you can do.” Pietro felt his stomach drop, but followed dutifully behind the posse of students.  
“Where are you three taking our new student?” Ororo questioned, an eyebrow raised as she lowered her book.  
“Danger Room,” Warren said cheerily. The African goddess seemed to consider and accept the relative safety given Scott’s presence. The book was raised once again as Jean mouthed ‘Danger Room’ to herself.  
“We can all show each other our powers in here,” Scott explained as they entered the training area.  
“For instance,” Warren said, removing his shirt. The handsome wings spread out behind him to Jean’s awestruck expression. “This is why I’m called angel.”  
“They’re gorgeous,” She said, reaching out a hand to stroke the feathers.  
“If you think that’s cool, then just watch this.” To Pietro’s amusement, Scott seemed intent on impressing this girl. He lifted his visor ever so slightly, allowing the red beams to slice through a leftover target from Wolverine’s last session.  
“That’s amazing!” Jean seemed even more impressed by this show of strength. Warren seemed to begrudgingly accept defeat and returned his shirt to its proper place. Jean turned to Pietro, a questioning look on her face.  
“What’s your power?” She asked politely. Pietro sped up to the kitchen and grabbed an apple, before returning to the Danger Room, all in less than a second.  
“Other than my being devilishly handsome? I’m fast.”  
“That’s so cool,” The girl breathed. Pietro took a bite out of the apple before throwing it directly at her head. Just as he thought he’d made a terrible mistake, the apple froze in midair.  
“What the hell, Pietro?” Scott yelled, already defensive of his new teammate. Jean held the apple aloft for a moment before unceremoniously dropping it to the floor.  
“She said she could use telekinesis sometimes. In my… experience with this kind of thing, that means she needs some kind of extreme emotion to use her power. Fear usually works.”  
“That doesn’t mean that that was okay for you to do,” Scott fumed. If their situations were reversed, Pietro would undoubtedly have already started a fight. The speedster didn’t care, however. He had learned what he’d needed to. Jean wasn’t Wanda, not in the slightest. Wanda wouldn’t have barely been able to stop the hurtling projectile. She, more than likely, would have effortlessly thrown her brother through a few walls before her anger subsided enough for her to realize what she’d done.  
“Sorry,” Pietro offered weakly. Jean seemed satisfied with the halfhearted apology, though she continued to eye the speedster carefully. He wasn’t surprised when Charles mentally summoned him for a lecture not long after they’d returned from their misadventure.  
“Pietro, I specifically warned you against this kind of behavior,” The Professor berated him.  
“I know.” I was there.  
“I seriously hope you can learn to control your behavior before you start school again next semester, otherwise you’ll undoubtedly land yourself in big trouble.” Pietro blinked, trying to comprehend the last statement. He felt a trill of actual fear make its way down his back.  
“I’m going back to school?!”


End file.
